In breaking news from Unlock the Past, I’m excited to learn that the genealogy conference to be held in Seattle USA, will now be livestreamed to DNA enthusiasts world-wide. The presenters will be Blaine Bettinger (USA), Maurice Gleeson (UK), Cyndi Ingle (USA) and Wayne Shepheard (Canada). What a stellar lineup! The program features: One whole stream … More Exciting news for genealogy & DNA fans world-wide
Many years ago, I found occasional references to my great-uncle Peter McCorkindale on microfilmed newspapers. It was apparent that he regularly “smashed” the competition at various Highland Games. While I’d written a blog post about the McCorkindale pipers a long time ago, I’ve recently found even more on Trove. That’s what happens when I putter … More Trove Discoveries: The Skirl o’ Pipes
Quite some time ago, I found a family story among the British Newspaper Archives on Find My Past. It’s taken me ages to get to it, but I finally transcribed the whole story[i]. It involved the prosecution of my great grandmother’s brother, William Sim aka Sym, for feloniously shooting Hugh Cowan on 12th July 1872. … More The Backrow Shooting Case 1872
It may be winter but it’s sunny and warm-ish in South-East Queensland right now – and it’s also less than a year until the Waves in Time 2019 Conference being held on the glorious Sunshine Coast from 24 to 26 May 2019. Behind the scenes a lot has been happening to ensure you have a … More Catch a Genealogy Wave in Queensland
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been something of an ostrich in recent times. Legalese makes my brain fry and my eyes cross so the implications of the GDPR or Global Data Protection Regulation have turned me into a cross-eyed ostrich. However, the internet’s boundaries are porous and we don’t always know where our … More Ostrich-ing the GDPR
In the aftermath of #Congress_2018 and as Caloundra Family History Research gears up for the 2019 Queensland Conference, Waves in Time, it seemed appropriate to re-post a story I wrote for the Worldwide Genealogists a few years back in 2015. I’d be interested in your views. To conference or not to conference? That is indeed … More To conference or not to conference
After all the anticipation and excitement, #Congress_2018 has come and gone in a flash. There was certainly a buzz around Sydney’s International Convention Centre as a record number of genealogists came together to learn, meet new genimates, and have fun. Amidst the whirl it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate just what you’ve learned until you take … More Having fun at Congress 2018
The #Congress_2018 schedule was packed with lots of interesting topics from which to learn. Although I took traditional notebooks, I found I was mainly typing my summaries into Notes on the iPad and if web sites were being used, I “played” along with the speaker. This helps me to reinforce what they’re teaching. What were … More Congress 2018 learning
Amidst the celebration of St Patrick’s Day, I’ve been reflecting how big a deal this was when I was a child, thanks in part to the religious divide. We would wear green ribbons to school (like the modern charity-fundraisers), little shamrock buttons, and have St Patrick’s Day concerts with all the old Irish songs. On … More Proud of my Irish roots
It’s finally here – the event Down Under Genies have been excitedly anticipating – the AFFHO Congress 2018. And it’s going to be huge with 600 attendees – the largest ever held. I guess that reflects the pulling power of Sydney and the growth of our obsession hobby. This will be my 5th Congress (Brisbane … More Congress 2018: Coming ready or not
Family history across the seas 